Show those PC and PS2 guys who's the boss online, using your GameCube, no less.
TERRAFORGE ANNOUNCES GAME DEVELOPMENT TECHNOLOGY ALLOWING PLAYERS TO ACCESS GAMES REGARDLESS OF PLATFORM; GREATLY EXPANDED GAME COMMUNITIES NOW POSSIBLE
SAN MARCOS, CA – JULY 2, 2003 -- TerraForge, Inc., (www.terraforge.com) is nearing completion of technology to create online games that players can access – and resume gameplay – using any platform they choose at any given moment (PC, Mac, PS/2, GameCube, or PDA), regardless of their location, language, or technology. The technology also makes possible – for the first time – the expansion of game communities because it eliminates current restrictions (e.g., PC players can only compete with other PC players) and allows all players – regardless of their platform – to participate in the community.
“Our technology, called the Asgard Gaming Community, lets us create games that players can, for example, access on their Playstation 2 or other platform at home, and then continue gameplay on a PC, Mac, or PDA in another location which provides a new world of anywhere, any time, any platform accessibility to our online games,” said Adam Mateljan, CEO of TerraForge.
The Asgard technology also facilitates the expansion of game communities for games developed using this technology.
According to Mr. Mateljan, communities for these games allow cross-platform competition where “PC players can compete against PS/2 players, Macs against PDAs, GameCubes against PCs,” and so on.
"This is exciting news for game players everywhere because it gives them the opportunity to broaden their gameplay experience and interact with gamers using other platforms which wasn't possible previously, as long as the integrity of the games and the system is not compromised," said Sean Underwood, Sr., president of the Video Game Players’ Association.
More About the Technology
Asgard’s primary modules are the Object Delivery Infrastructure Network (ODIN) and the abstracted game engine Valhalla.
ODIN is a self-healing network that redistributes assets needed when network or hardware outages occur, checks at log in for the latest patch and any other relevant information, and allows user personas (optionally with parent controls) to be used in several applications.
Software has complete Copy and Fraud Protection and any games created utilizing the software have total Cheat Protection.
Valhalla is a standalone game engine that taps into the ODIN system for user profile data, updates and content delivery, and the community infrastructure. It separates the business logic of a game from the graphical user interface which allows for creation of a server that can handle a multitude of players, interacting with each other seamlessly, all from different platforms.
A graphical interface for a game can be created in a completely 3D environment on a PC and a simpler one created for a WAP-based phone. Both GUIs are valid for user interaction and they both allow the user to get the full experience without the need for different servers or different sets of business logic.
For additional information, visit www.terraforge.com.
